Dollar continues climb against Canadian currency

NEW YORK 
The U.S. dollar continued its climb against the Canadian currency after reports that retail sales in Canada dropped.

The U.S. dollar rose to 1.0231 Canadian dollars on Friday, versus 1.0196 Canadian dollars on Thursday. Statistics Canada said that shoppers cut spending in December, pushing retail sales down 2 percent, the steepest drop since April 2010.

With no major U.S. economic reports out Friday, the dollar was little changed against other major currencies. The dollar gained slightly against the Japanese yen, rising to 93.42 yen from 93.12 yen late Thursday.

The euro recovered slightly, rising to $1.318. That's up from $1.3172 late Thursday, when the euro dropped to its weakest point in about six weeks.

The British pound was unchanged against the dollar, trading at $1.5242.

The dollar weakened slightly against the Swiss franc, slipping to 0.9309 franc from 0.9319 late Thursday.